


Lost & Found

by lemonella



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Soul Bond, soul mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 13:40:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3383660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonella/pseuds/lemonella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Where’s Felicity?”</p><p>Diggle looks down, and for a moment, Oliver wishes he could take the words back because he knows, he <i>knows</i>, that the next words out of Diggle’s mouth are going to completely shatter him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost & Found

**Author's Note:**

> My first foray into this fandom...please be gentle.

As the warmth of his lips fades from her forehead, Felicity knows two things:

1) The kiss she shared with Oliver at the hospital sealed their soul mate bond and 2) he doesn’t know. 

To be fair, normally two people have to make love in order to solidify the bond. Soul mates are rare enough as it is (like 1 in a million of even _having_ a soul mate, which doesn’t include the odds of actually _meeting_ them), but for the love to be so strong that the bond can be cemented through just a kiss is…unheard of. (Literally. She scoured the Internet—and wrote a program to comb through scanned historical documents—and could not find a single instance where naked sexy fun times were not required.)

She knew the instant it had happened. Oliver’s soul pouring into her, filling the empty space that had been reserved all this time and for exactly this moment. She could never forget the sudden warmth and love and joy and _rightness_ that coursed through her, filling every little dark crevice and crack and pit created by people like her father and Cooper. And instead of overwhelming passion, she was enveloped by a sense of peace and contentment, like releasing a sigh she’d been holding in for years. 

Not that she had any previous personal experience with soul bonds, but Felicity could tell hers with Oliver was different. Most bonded couples described the sensation of bonding as an entwining, like a braid—still separate pieces but stronger together.

She knew her and Oliver’s souls had done more than weave together—they had fused, becoming inseparable. 

Felicity didn’t know how Oliver _couldn’t_ have felt the forming of the bond. She knows she’s a good kisser but no one is _that_ good. She had just assumed that he had recognized it for what it was but chose to ignore it. 

But as he walks up those steps to face Ra’s al Ghul, she realizes he truly doesn’t know. Because despite everything that has (and _hasn’t_ ) happened between them, Felicity knows he would never willingly put her life in such danger.

Which is why she doesn’t tell him. Because if she did, he’d have to choose between risking her life or his sister's. 

And that’s one thing she’ll never ask him to do.

>>\------>

Eight hours after Oliver leaves, Diggle pulls to a stop outside of Palmer Technologies and turns to Felicity. He reaches for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“He’s going to be okay, Felicity. He’ll win.”

She squeezes back, hard. “How can you be sure?” 

“Because he’s Oliver. And he’ll do anything to make it home.” 

_To you_ is left unsaid, but they both hear it anyway. 

Felicity releases the breath she didn’t even know she was holding. When she finally loosens her grip on Diggle’s hand, moon-shaped crescents decorate his skin. She grabs her bag and opens the car door, glancing over her shoulder to catch his eye.

“Thanks,” she says, and he knows she means for more than the car ride.

He smiles softly. “Anytime, Felicity.”

With a small smile that lacks its usual lightness, she fully exits the car. Diggle stays idling at the curb, waiting until she enters the building. Behind him, Ray Palmer exits a town car and jogs a few yards until he falls into step with Felicity, lightly grasping her elbow.

Diggle smiles faintly to himself, knowing that if Oliver were here his “grumpy face,” as Felicity likes to put it, would be making an appearance right about now. 

He watches Felicity and Ray reach the door and is about to shift into drive when the most painful, gut-wrenching scream pierces the air. His eyes immediately search out Felicity to find her collapsing in on herself, hands clutching her chest and stomach as if she’s trying to something keep inside. Diggle barely glances at the oncoming traffic before jumping out of the car and sprinting for Felicity, eyes scanning for an attacker. 

He’s still 10 yards away when the scream stops and she goes limp, falling into Ray’s waiting arms. 

“Felicity!” Ray shouts. When she doesn’t respond, he steadies his grip on her and turns to rush back to his town car. He takes one step before Diggle nearly runs him over, immediately taking Felicity into his own arms.

“Somebody call an ambulance!” he orders, snapping the onlookers out of their ogling and filming. If this ends up on YouTube, Felicity will be _pissed_.

Laying her on the ground— _Sorry about getting your dress dirty_ , he absentmindedly thinks—Diggle checks her vitals. _Pulse is a bit slower than normal. Breathing is steady, not shallow or labored. Pupils nonresponsive. No visible injuries. Maybe internal? She did grab at her stomach…appendix? Abdomen feels normal, no rigidity or swelling._

There’s some sort of buzzing around his head. He shrugs his shoulders, trying to dislodge the bug until he realizes the sound is coming from Ray, asking what he can do to help. Diggle ignores him.

Vertigo flits through his mind; maybe she was dosed with something? There are no obvious puncture marks, but she could have ingested something, or inhaled a gas? But when, and where? After Oliver left last night, Diggle brought her home to stay with him and Lyla, not wanting her to be alone. If there had been something at his house, then he and Lyla and—oh God, and _Sara_ —would be affected, too. But they’re fine…

Physically, he couldn’t find anything wrong with Felicity besides the fact that she was unconscious. That scream of pure agony, though—she didn’t just pass out from skipping breakfast. This was something else.

But _what_? What the hell happened to her?

The flashing lights and two men barreling toward him with a stretcher finally alert Diggle to the ambulance’s arrival. He’s reluctant to hand her over to the paramedics, but knows his medical knowledge has been exhausted and she needs to go to the hospital.

One glance at his face dissuades the paramedics from even trying to tell him he can’t ride in the ambulance with Felicity. As the vehicle pulls away with a blare of sirens, Diggle clutches her hand, praying it will squeeze his back like it did a few minutes ago.

>>\-----> 

Six weeks later, Oliver carefully makes his way through the Glades—which are _not_ like he remembers. Despite his desire to sprint directly to Verdant, he maintains a cautious pace, hyperaware for potential threats lurking in the shadows. He figured the team would struggle a bit without him, but the Glades are as bad as when he first returned from Lian Yu. Three years of hard work basically erased in a few weeks…he can’t believe it. Can’t believe that Felicity and Diggle and Roy would allow it. The thought stops him in his tracks. 

_They wouldn’t._

His mind whirls with possibilities, none of them pleasant. _Maybe Diggle was injured in the field? Or Roy? …Laurel?_ He wouldn’t allow himself to consider anything worse than an injury, and Felicity wasn’t included in the list because she didn’t go out into the field so there was no way she was hurt.

 _But what if she did?_

What if, without him there, she had to participate in a mission outside of the relative safety of the lair? If she was injured trying to keep his mission alive…he’ll never forgive himself.

Before his mind can conjure up any more nightmare material—as if he doesn’t already have enough for a hundred lifetimes—Verdant is in front of him. Standing in the dark, he punches in the keycode to the basement, wondering if they’ve changed it since he left. 

The light blinks green and the locks disengage. Apparently not. 

Oliver can’t quite decide if that’s a good or a bad thing yet.

As he opens the door, a rush of stale air escapes. The lair is pitch black—no faint glow from the computer monitors or gentle winks of color from the servers. On high alert, he slowly descends the stairs.

Once at the bottom, he makes his way by memory to the light switch, flipping them on. Everything _looks_ exactly like it did when he left, but it _feels_ wrong—empty, abandoned. 

Oliver makes his way silently over to the computer station, instantly noticing the light layer of dust that covers everything. 

No one has been here for weeks.

Before he can contemplate this thought for long, a small noise at the top of the stairs has Oliver darting for his bow and arrows—still right where he left them. He listens carefully to the beeps of the keypad, realizing whoever is up there has entered the wrong code. Someone is trying to break in—unsuccessfully. 

Except the door opens.

Arrow at the ready, Oliver’s focus narrows to the figure stepping through, the silhouette of a drawn gun becoming clear. It is only years of training that prevent him from instinctively tensing, keeping his fingers firm but not tight on the bowstring. The shadowy figure takes a step down, gun suddenly dropping slightly. 

“Oliver?”

He knows that voice. “Diggle?”

He hears a quick, harsh exhale from above and a gun being holstered. “Yeah, it’s me.”

As Diggle makes his way down the stairs, Oliver lowers his bow, suddenly enveloped by a feeling of dread at this reunion. 

He’s not really sure what he was expecting—a hug, maybe, or at least a “welcome back.”

What he’s not expecting is the haggard expression on Diggle’s face or the weary, defeated tone of his first words.

“Where have you been, man? It’s been nearly two months…”

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s…complicated. I came back as soon as I could.”

“Too complicated to call? Or send a postcard? We thought you were dead, and after…after…” he trails off.

“After what?” Oliver asks.

Diggle doesn’t respond, but the devastated look in his eyes tells Oliver more than words ever could. He swallows hard, twice, before he can get the words out.

“Where’s Felicity?”

Diggle looks down, and for a moment, Oliver wishes he could take the words back because he knows, he _knows_ , that the next words out of Diggle’s mouth are going to completely shatter him.

“She’s in the hospital.”

For a split second, Oliver thinks he was wrong. Because if she’s in the hospital, then she’s not dead.

But Diggle continues. 

“She’s been in a coma since the day after you left.”

**Author's Note:**

> Any kudos or reviews are greatly appreciated!


End file.
